Lögberg-Heimskringla - 09.09.2005, Side 10

10 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 9 September 2005
Hauksdóttir’s
Dís a flawed,
but fun movie
Dís
Directed bý Silja Hauksdóttir
Iceland, 2004, 80 minutes
Reviewed by
Tómas Gunnarsson
Dís is a comedy based on
a novel, written by the same
team that wrote the script for
the movie. The novel was a
bestseller in Iceland, selling
over 10,000 copies.
To follow a highly suc-
cessful book with a movie is
no small task, but the movie
manages to catch the spirit of
the book — it is funny and wit-
ty, but it would have benefited
from a bit of a tighter scrip,j;
and a more experienced direc-
tor. The ideas are all there, but
some of them could have been
put to better use.
This is Silja Hauksdóttir’s
first and only feature film so
far, and though the movie is
not without faults, one hopes
to see more films from her in
the future.
The movie catcbes pretty
well the life of the Icelandic
20-something generation, and
is highly entertaining. The
beáutiful blonde 23-year-old
Reykjavik nymph, Dís, is at
crossroads in life. She shares
an apartment with her friend
Blær in downtown Reykjavík
and works at the front desk at
Hotel Borg, where she dreáms
about fame and fortune in for-
eign countries, while trying to
figure out what to do about her
education and that handsome
chef who works in the hotel
restaurant.
One of her big worries is
how ordinary she is, in the cul-
tural melting pot that is Reyk-
javík, which seerns to offer an
endless variety of extraordi-
nary people, where everybody
is a “character” well on their
way to “making it,” if not in-
ternationally, then at least lo-
cally. The conclusion that she
is unusually ordinary does
nothing to put her worries to
rest.
Dís is an entertaining and
modern Reykjavík story, show-
ing us the life of youngsters in
the year 2000. It even includes
the big earthquake of June 17
that year, and includes cameos
by well-known Icelanders like
former president Vigdís Finn-
bogadóttir and other local ce-
lebrities.
The young Icelandic ac-
tors turn in good performanc-
es and Árni Tryggvason as
usual doesn’t let the audience
down; he’s as solid as Gaui,
the character he portrays. And
for those who like Icelandic
pop music, a large selection
PHOTO COURTESY OFTÓMAS GUNNARSSON
Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir stars as Dís, a young woman envious of the people around her.
of Icelandic musicians of the
younger generation are fea-
tured in the soundtrack.
Although Dís will likely
not have a prominent place in
the history of cinema, it offers
an excellent opportunity to
take a peek at the thoughts and
life of the younger generation
in Iceland and see the work of
one of the younger Icelandic
directors.
Dís will be shown in To-
ronto later this month. For
more information, see the Cal-
endar ofEvents.
ICCT kicks off annual
Icelandic movie series
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto (ICCT) kicks off
its winter series of Icelandic movies this month.
The series, now in its third year, is organized and co-hosted
by the National Film Board of Canada, the Icelandic Embassy
in Ottawa and the ICCT. This year’s program begins September
29 with Silja Hauksdóttir’s Dís. In October, Guðný Halldórs-
dóttir’s 1999 feature Ungfrúin góða o'g húsið (The Honour of
the House) based on a short story by Halldór Laxness, will be
shown. Further titles have yet to be announced.
For more information on this and upconiing niovies, see
the Calendar of Events.

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■ 3 nights hotel accommodation (standard category)
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Seasonality:
Eastern Canada via Boston Oct30-Dec17 2005, Dec24-Mar31 2006
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Prices shown are per person excluding taxes of approx. S155-190 dependíng on departure city
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1589
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ICELANDAIR
New Icelandic
trivia game
A new board game focus-
ing on trivia about Iceland's
Vopnafjörður area is now avail-
able. The game, Átthagasilið
Vopnafjörður, is published in
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two to four players aged eight
and up.
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